France passes a law against food waste

France has decided to take on the problem of food waste head-on, according to a recent story in the Guardian. It has passed a new law forbidding large supermarkets from throwing out food that has approached its sell-by date. Instead, large grocers will be obliged to donate the food to food banks and charities, which will then be able to prepare more meals for the poor.

The passage of the law was the culmination of a grassroots campaign conducted by shoppers, poverty activists, and people who are opposed to food waste, the practice of throwing out usable food. Now French food banks have the interesting problem of finding extra volunteers and storage space for the extra bounty they are about to have. The law would cut down on the practice of impoverished people going into supermarket rubbish bins to find extra food.

The law highly regulates the process of donating food. Owners of food stores with a square footage of more than 400 square meters will be obliged to give food or face fines of up to 75,000 Euros and two years in prison. Food banks, in turn, will be required to stock the extra product in proper, hygienic conditions and to distribute food with “dignity.” That means that the food has to be given out at the food bank where human contact and conversation are encouraged. Another part of the law makes it easier to donate food, such as dairy products, directly from factories.

The next step will be to persuade the government of the European Union to extend the anti-food waste law to all member countries.